Papa Makes It Better
by FireStorm1991
Summary: After a difficult and demoralizing day at school, Little Bra finds herself in a completely bad mood. Still, that's nothing an afternoon with her papa couldn't fix.


**Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters**

 **This was just a little random thought that came to my head while reading another story (completely unrelated), and this came to me. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

It had been the end of the school day, and the bus had brought Little Bra home to Capsule Corp. She quickly descended the stairs, looking back to see and hear the other kids laughing and happily talking about their day with their friends. She clutched her schoolbag and frowned as the bus's door closed and the driver took off. The six-year-old turned back around and let herself into home.

All was quiet.

She expected as much. Her grandparents were away, and Trunks was most likely still at school with his older friends, and she thought he said something about a sleepover too. Her mama was working late tonight, she remembered. That meant her papa was home.

The child looked around, knowing where her daddy had been. As expected, he was in the gravity room, training, and Bra honestly didn't want to see him. Not after everything that happened.

It had started out as a good day. Her mommy made her pancakes before she left for work, promising that on the weekend they would spend a lot of time together despite the week where she'd have to work late every night. Bulma had then walked with her outside and put her on her school bus, waving at her and telling her how much she loved her. Bra happily went to her seat and rested, looking out the window and the bright, sunny sky. She never really talked to anyone on the bus, not even her seatmate when he came on the bus. That was just her usual morning.

Even when she got into class, all had been well. She had done really well on her math test, and she read very well too. The little, Saiyan hybrid even answered a lot of really tough questions. She knew her mommy would be proud of her.

After snack, that was when everything started to unravel. One of her classmates asked her to pronounce a really big work from the dictionary, and, with furrowed brows, Bra made her best attempt. She knew it was wrong when all of her classmates started laughing at her. "I guess you're not a _genius_ like your mother," the boy had so rudely teased. Bra felt a jolt to her heart. No one ever said something so mean to her before, and mommy always told her she was doing really well with school. She wondered if her mother just said that to spare her feelings, and all of her earlier victories from the day just went to the back of her mind.

At lunch time, she found that someone had gone into her lunch bag and taken all her food. It was one of her girl classmates this time, telling the child that she always ate too much anyway. The girl had thrown her lunch away. Bra was so angry and upset. Her mommy had made her favorite lunch too. She went to storm off, and another girl tripped her as she entered the hall. More laughter surrounded her, and Bra felt like the smallest person in the world.

She forced herself not to cry in front of them. Papa always taught her not to let the enemy see her weakened. But she was so upset, and she couldn't fight it. She left the lunchroom and hid in the bathroom for an hour, letting her sadness out. Then, when she got back to class, her teacher scolded her in front of everyone for "skipping class," and as her punishment Bra wasn't allowed to play outside for break. She watched her fellow classmates, the ones who had been hurting her all day, playing without a care while she was forced to watch from the window. It just seemed like everyone was out to get her.

It had been such a terrible day, and she was still feeling sad and hurt. Tears pooled in her eyes, and she dropped her bag and ran to her room. She needed to be alone. The last thing she wanted was for her strong papa to see her being so weak.

* * *

Vegeta shut down the simulator fifteen minutes after he sensed his daughter's ki enter the compound. It was highly beneficial for him that his woman had brought the gravity technology into their home so that it would be easier to come and go from training, especially on days like today when he was responsible for caring for his daughter. He was surprised that she hadn't come to get him yet. He was certain she was hungry, and she never missed a moment to garner his attention (and he'd gladly give it).

The prince had given his daughter some time to get settled in, but she still never came to him. In fact, he located her ki in her room. It was possible she was doing homework, but she usually finished it in class. Honestly, he and Bulma knew those classes were too easy for her. Considering her brilliant mother and tactical father, there was no wonder. Still, Bulma thought it best for her to be skipped a grade the following year so that she could make some friends her own age. There would be plenty of time for her to skip grades later. She only had a few years to be a carefree child. Vegeta didn't argue that point.

So, he went in search of his princess and paused outside her door with wide eyes. Did he hear what he thought he did? The sounds of her sniffles were muffled by the door, but he knew that sound, and a deep rage settled in his heart. It surprised him since his daughter was usually bright and chiming, a light that could fully immerse his dark heart. She rarely ever frowned, unless she was frustrated, and even then her expression would match his gaze of frustration. Why was his little one so upset?

It bothered him that her cries did not subside after a few minutes, and so he entered the room. He recalled moments in the past where either of their children were upset, angry, or otherwise where Bulma encouraged him to talk to them. Usually, he let her handle that, but this was different. He and Bra were on their own for the night, and he would not let his precious daughter suffer in silence.

She barely reacted to the sound of the door opening, continuing to cry into her pillow. It made Vegeta's cold heart ache painfully to see her in such a state. "Bra," he called out, but she didn't respond. He knew she had to hear him. Saiyan senses were more advanced than that. "Bra," he called more forcefully, but to no avail. His daughter was set on ignoring his presence.

"Eschalot."

That got her attention, and she finally shot up and looked over to her father. He only used her Saiyan name when he was being serious. "P-Papa," she greeted weakly. She could hardly look him in the eye.

Vegeta's hardened gaze softened now that he had her attention. His hand lingered on her doorknob for a second before he entered the room. "What happened?" he demanded gently.

Bra shook her head. "Nothing," she lied unconvincingly.

Well, Vegeta expected that, honestly. He went to take a seat next to his daughter on the bed. "If it is nothing, then why are you crying?"

She gave him a very Vegeta-like glare. He refrained from smirking at the thought of how much she was like him. "I don't want to talk about it."

He couldn't stop the smirk that time. "So something _did_ happen."

Bra frowned and looked away, shame tainting her beautiful, blue eyes. "Leave me alone…" she murmured quietly. _"I don't want to talk about it."_

Vegeta's expression grew grim at that. Bra had definitely inherited his stubbornness and pride, and so she was usually reluctant to discuss bad days. The prince wouldn't have that. "Alright," he replied curtly, knowing he wouldn't get much out of her in that moment.

Bra let out a sigh of relief. She knew her interrogation was over, and so she laid back down, hiding her face in her pillow. She just wanted to hide and never go back to that place. Part of her just wanted to be able to disappear for a day.

Out of nowhere, she was picked up by her father. His sudden grasp startled her, and she let out a yelp of protest as he cradled her in his arms. "Papa, put me down!" she shouted, not at all amused by her daddy at the moment.

"I'm not leaving you in the room by yourself," he told her, "and I have training to do, so you're just going to have to come with me." She opened her mouth to argue. "This is not up for debate, Eschalot."

Bra frowned and puffed her cheeks, surrendering to her father. He wasn't giving her a choice in the matter. She didn't like it.

* * *

Vegeta took Bra outside and gently set her on the ground. He would have brought her to the gravity room, but she had only just started doing mild training in there recently. Besides, he figured being outdoors would help her mood. It usually did, especially when the weather was this decent. He glanced at her for a moment before he moved away from her, not too far but leaving enough distance for him to practice his kata without accidentally hitting her in the process.

As much as Bra wanted to stay angry at her daddy, she actually did like watching him train. Her papa always moved in smooth, graceful movements that it was almost like dancing. It was part of the reason she wanted to learn despite it being in her blood. As she thought of that, a smile came to her face, the first one since the morning.

After training, Vegeta brought Bra inside and made them something to eat. Her stomach rumbled louder than usual in the middle of his exercises, so he decided to stop. He made them quite a bit of food, but he snuck her many desserts, mainly to get some brownie points so that later she may open up. He almost commented on her overly ravenous appetite. Usually, she didn't eat as much as he did since Bulma made sure to always pack plenty for her day. He thought against it, worried he'd set her back. There was a nagging in the back of his head that told him that this was a result of her day at school.

When they were done eating, Vegeta decided to take his daughter to the park. It took an unusual amount of coaxing to get Bra to run around and play. She almost seemed hesitant. He had to grant her his permission before she timidly went to the play area. Another kid saw her and offered to play with her which made Bra smile. After that, she played with abandon like, unbeknownst to her father, she hadn't gotten to do at school. He let her run around for an hour or so until the other kid had to go home.

Vegeta brought Bra home and made sure she got cleaned up and ready for bed. Her spirits were raised, but her smile still wasn't as wide as it could have been. There was still a tinge of sadness in her eyes as Vegeta tucked her in. Finally, Vegeta asked the question, "Are you ready to talk about what happened?"

Bra was hesitant to tell him, he noticed, but he had softened her through the day, and she finally admitted all of the torment she suffered during the day. She told him about how her day started. She had done well in class, besting some of her classmates, and then she had eaten a very tasty snack during snack time, a piece of cake and some zucchini bread, her favorite that Bulma had made earlier in the week. His woman always tried to make up for her absences somehow on these busy work weeks, and her attempts always brought their daughter such unbridled joy.

"Then they tried to make me say tris-ka…tris-tris-keh…triskaidecaphobria…" Bra complained, getting worked up, "and when I couldn't do that they made fun of me and laughed and said I wasn't smart like mommy."

Vegeta's expression remained calm as he uncrossed his arms and placed a hand on hers. "Did they?"

"Mm-hm," Bra murmured. "And then at lunch time, someone threw away my grilled cheese sandwiches and said I eat too much. I was so mad, and I wanted to go away from her, and someone else tripped me and then more people laughed. I didn't want them to see that they got to me, so I hid in the bathroom. I was late to class, and then my teacher got mad at me and kept me from going outside and I had to watch everyone have fun without me."

It was such a minor punishment from what Vegeta was used to growing up, but at the same time similar effects were there. He was going to have to discuss the manner with Bulma. Even if action needed to be taken, forcing the child to watch her tormentors get rewarded for hurting her was cruel and unusual. "It sounds like you had a rough day, princess."

Bra frowned and looked down. "It was," she admitted, sniffling again.

"None of that," he said without any bite, wiping away her tears before they fell. "Your tears are wasted on those idiots."

"Papa…they aren't idiots," Bra defended. "They could say tris-tris…"

"I don't know what the fuck that kind of word is," Vegeta stated, making his daughter giggle at his crudeness, "but it's not important for you to know it. Honestly, if they knew a word like that, then they should have been able to answer the questions you did in class. My guess is they looked up any word and practiced it so that they _could_ say it. As far as not being smart like your mother, you know and we know that's not true. You're brilliant, Bra, and already very advanced. We've been talking with your teachers about the possibility of you skipping grades like your brother did. Those other brats are just jealous because you're more intelligent than they are and able to answer difficult questions more easily than them."

Bra blinked at her father. She never thought about it like that, but she had seen her one classmate showing the dictionary to the teacher before he came to her. Maybe he had just asked how to say the word to humiliate her. It made her want to work harder to learn more big words and challenge him like he had her.

"As for lunch, your classmates were probably jealous because your mother makes you delicious lunches every day," Vegeta pointed out, "when their parents have them buy that swill your cafeteria tries to pass off as food. And I know it's swill because I used to have to eat in a cafeteria all the time on Frieza's ship, and nothing compares to your mother's or grandmother's cooking, but don't tell them I said that." He gave his daughter a quick wink to indicate that he was teasing making his daughter laugh. "Don't tell your mother I said this either, but I would have tripped that little brat back when she least expected it.

"And as for your teacher, did you tell her what happened?" Bra nodded solemnly. "Then she shouldn't have punished you. Your mother and I will handle it, but next time you tell her your papa said you could play, and if she has a problem with it, she can call me or your mother directly. And trust me, she won't like what I'd have to say. Do you understand, princess?"

"Yes, daddy," Bra said with a cute little yawn cuddling up against her pillows. A genuine smile finally graced her features, and Vegeta felt like his job was done for the day.

Bra had other plans.

"Papa?" He paused and looked back to his little one, curled up under her covers. "Can you sing to me?"

Vegeta was baffled by the request. He had hardly sang a note in his life unless he counted battle cries. He say back down on the edge of her bed. "Like what?" he gruffed.

"A lullaby," the child requested. "Pwease?"

How could he say "no" to that?

Honestly, Vegeta didn't know any of the lullabies Bulma usually sang to the girl, and he couldn't make any up either, at least none that wouldn't scare her for life. Searching his memory, he finally thought of something, an old Saiyan lullaby, he barely remembered the words to, in his native tongue. The smooth, soft tone of his voice lulled his daughter to sleep. "Thank you, papa," Bra whispered with a sleepy voice. "I love you." Vegeta placed a hand on her head and released her only once she had fallen asleep.

Bulma was standing in the middle of the doorway, a shit-eating grin adorning her features. "I saw that," she told him despite knowing he'd deny it happening later.

A tired sigh left him, and this time he didn't try to hide it. "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know I need to have a talk with the school about this bullying problem," Bulma huffed in frustration. "This is the third time this year she's had a day like this. You handled it really well, by the way."

Vegeta shrugged. Honestly, he really wanted to handle it in a much _different_ way, but he was sure he'd never hear the end of it from his wife if he burned down the school and tortured the life out of Bra's insensitive teacher. "I can't stand those other brats," he growled. "If they piss her off enough, they're going to end up hurt or worse."

"I'm surprised you didn't encourage her to use her training to fight back," Bulma teased before noticing Vegeta's serious expression.

"I don't want her to…" Vegeta started to say, knowing that Bra would either get in trouble or feel bad if she ever lashed out at her classmates no matter how angry she was. Besides, physical violence in response to taunting was something he was greatly familiar with, and he was loathe to teach that lifestyle to his angelic daughter.

Bulma seemed to understand his train of thought. She always did, after all, and she beamed at him. Still, even she could sense a change in subject was needed. "Anyway it's time for bed," she told him. "I have to say, that little song you sang…it was kind of cute."

Vegeta instantly flushed red after his wife winked at him, and, like when he first moved in, he was nearly at a loss for words, stammering awkwardly before growling the words, "Shut up."

Bulma wrapped an arm around his neck and practically pulled him from their daughter's room. She whispered, "Why don't you come and make me, _tough guy?_ "

A smirk lit Vegeta's expression. "Vulgar woman," he teased her back before lifting her up in his arms and carrying her to their room. The rest of the night, all was peaceful.


End file.
